At the 1st Congressional District caucus in Westfield, tensions between the Romney and Paul supporters hit a boiling point before a common goal realigned the group.
View full sizePeople stand in line, waiting to vote at the Massachusetts Republican party caucus at North Middle School in Westfield on April 28, 2012. (Submitted photo by Ellen Michaliszyn)Although the results of the Massachusetts Republican Party caucuses are awaiting certification, preliminary reports suggest that GOP Presidential hopeful Ron Paul's supporters may have trumped those aligned with former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney.
On Saturday, Republicans turned out in large numbers across the commonwealth to select which local delegates will attend the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. in late August. At the convention, delegates will officially pledge their support for a presidential candidate, or in the case of Massachusetts Republicans, support for Romney.
"Because Governor Romney won 73 percent of the vote in the state's primary, all of the delegates are bound to Romney," said Tim Buckley, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Republican Party. "It was great to see so much enthusiasm for the chance to support Governor Romney at the convention."
But despite the kind words for Romney, more than half of his chosen delegates, including former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, former gubernatorial hopeful Charles Baker, Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins Jr. and House minority leader Bradley Jones, were not selected at their respective caucuses.
At the 1st Congressional District caucus in Westfield, tensions between the Romney and Paul supporters hit a boiling point before a common goal realigned the group.
"There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm at the Western Massachusetts Republican caucuses on Saturday," said John Michaliszyn, who attended the event. "There was one heated exchange between the Ron Paul people and the Mitt Romney people but that was dwarfed by the overwhelming desire to oust Barack Obama from office."
Michaliszyn said the caucus had one of the highest turnouts in recent memory with 207 people casting votes for the convention delegates.
"It was a lot of fun being in a room where you could tell history is about to made," Michaliszyn said in an email. "Many are new to the political landscape but the learning curve was being embraced and Massachusetts politics may never be the same."
The Massachusetts Democratic Party recently held its caucuses and selected delegates to attend the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Romney currently has 847 of the required 1,144 delegates needed to obtain the party's official nomination.
Former Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, suspended his campaign on Wednesday, saying he would endorse and pledge his support for Romney.
Once the list of delegates is certified by the Massachusetts Republican Party, it will be published on MassLive.com.